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- The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
-
- "From the point of view of the criminal expert," said Mr.
- Sherlock Holmes, "London has become a singularly uninterest-
- ing city since the death of the late lamented Professor Moriarty."
- "I can hardly think that you would find many decent citizens
- to agree with you," I answered.
- "Well, well, I must not be selfish," said he, with a smile, as
- he pushed back his chair from the breakfast-table. "The commu-
- nity is certainly the gainer, and no one the loser, save the poor
- out-of-work specialist, whose occupation has gone. With that
- man in the field, one's morning paper presented infinite possibil-
- ities. Often it was only the smallest trace, Watson, the faintest
- indication, and yet it was enough to tell me that the great
- malignant brain was there, as the gentlest tremors of the edges of
- the web remind one of the foul spider which lurks in the centre.
- Petty thefts, wanton assaults, purposeless outrage -- to the man
- who held the clue all could be worked into one connected whole.
- To the scientific student of the higher criminal world, no capital
- in Europe offered the advantages which London then possessed.
- But now --" He shrugged his shoulders in humorous deprecation
- of the state of things which he had himself done so much to
- produce.
- At the time of which I speak, Holmes had been back for some
- months, and I at his request had sold my practice and returned to
- share the old quarters in Baker Street. A young doctor, named
- Vemer, had purchased my small Kensington practice, and given
- with astonishingly little demur the highest price that I ventured to
- ask -- an incident which only explained itself some years later,
- when I found that Vemer was a distant relation of Holmes, and
- that it was my friend who had really found the money.
- Our months of partnership had not been so uneventful as he
- had stated, for I find, on looking over my notes, that this period
- includes the case of the papers of ex-President Murillo, and also
- the shocking affair of the Dutch steamship Friesland, which so
- nearly cost us both our lives. His cold and proud nature was
- always averse, however, from anything in the shape of public
- applause, and he bound me in the most stringent terms to say no
- further word of himself, his methods, or his successes -- a prohi-
- bition which, as I have explained, has only now been removed.
- Mr. Sherlock Holmes was leaning back in his chair after his
- whimsical protest, and was unfolding his morning paper in a
- leisurely fashion, when our attention was arrested by a tremen-
- dous ring at the bell, followed immediately by a hollow drum-
- ming sound, as if someone were beating on the outer door with
- his fist. As it opened there came a tumultuous rush into the hall,
- rapid feet clattered up the stair, and an instant later a wild-eyed
- and frantic young man, pale, dishevelled, and palpitating, burst
- into the room. He looked from one to the other of us, and under
- our gaze of inquiry he became conscious that some apology was
- needed for this unceremonious entry.
- "I'm sorry, Mr. Holmes," he cried. "You mustn't blame me.
- I am nearly mad. Mr. Holmes, I am the unhappy John Hector
- McFarlane."
- He made the announcement as if the name alone would ex-
- plain both his visit and its manner, but I could seel by my
- companion's unresponsive face, that it meant no more to him
- than to me.
- "Have a cigarette, Mr. McFarlane," said he, pushing his case
- across. "I am sure that, with your symptoms, my friend Dr.
- Watson here would prescribe a sedative. The weather has been
- so very warm these last few days. Now, if you feel a little more
- composed, I should be glad if you would sit down in that chair,
- and tell us very slowly and quietly who you are. and what it is
- that you want. You mentioned your name, as if I should recog-
- nize it, but I assure you that, beyond the obvious facts that you
- are a bachelor, a solicitor, a Freemason, and an asthmatic, I
- know nothing whatever about you."
- Familiar as I was with my friend's methods, it was not diffi-
- cult for me to follow his deductions, and to observe the untidi-
- ness of attire, the sheaf of legal papers, the watch-charm, and the
- breathing which had prompted them. Our client, however, stared
- in amazement.
- "Yes, I am all that, Mr. Holmes; and, in addition, I am the
- most unfortunate man at this moment in London. For heaven's
- sake, don't abandon me, Mr. Holmes! If they come to arrest me
- before I have finished my story, make them give me time, so
- that I may tell you the whole truth. I could go to jail happy if I
- knew that you were working for me outside."
- "Arrest you!" said Holmes. "This is really most grati -- most
- interesting. On what charge do you expect to be arrested?"
- "Upon the charge of murdering Mr. Jonas Oldacre, of Lower
- Norwood."
- My companion's expressive face showed a sympathy which
- was not, I am afraid, entirely unmixed with satisfaction.
- "Dear me," said he, "it was only this moment at breakfast
- that I was saying to my friend, Dr. Watson, that sensational
- cases had disappeared out of our papers."
- Our visitor stretched forward a quivering hand and picked up
- the Daily Telegraph, which still lay upon Holmes's knee.
- "If you had looked at it, sir, you would have seen at a glance
- what the errand is on which I have come to you this morning. I
- feel as if my name and my misfortune must be in every man's
- mouth." He turned it over to expose the central page. "Here it
- is, and with your permission I will read it to you. Listen to this,
- Mr. Holmes. The headlines are: 'Mysterious Affair at Lower
- Norwood. Disappearance of a Well Known Builder. Suspicion of
- Murder and Arson. A Clue to the Criminal.' That is the clue
- which they are already following, Mr. Holmes, and I know that
- it leads infallibly to me. I have been followed from London
- Bridge Station, and I am sure that they are only waiting for the
- warrant to arrest me. It will break my mother's heart -- it will
- break her heart!" He wrung his hands in an agony of apprehen-
- sion, and swayed backward and forward in his chair.
- I looked with interest upon this man, who was accused of
- being the perpetrator of a crime of violence. He was flaxen-
- haired and handsome, in a washed-out negative fashion, with
- frightened blue eyes, and a clean-shaven face, with a weak,
- sensitive mouth. His age may have been about twenty-seven, his
- dress and bearing that of a gentleman. From the pocket of his
- light summer overcoat protruded the bundle of endorsed papers
- which proclaimed his profession.
- "We must use what time we have," said Holmes. "Watson,
- would you have the kindness to take the paper and to read the
- paragraph in question?"
- Underneath the vigorous headlines which our client had quoted,
- I read the following suggestive narrative:
-
- "Late last night, or early this morning, an incident oc-
- curred at Lower Norwood which points, it is feared, to a
- serious crime. Mr. Jonas Oldacre is a well known resident
- of that suburb, where he has carried on his business as a
- builder for many years. Mr. Oldacre is a bachelor, fifty-two
- years of age, and lives in Deep Dene House, at the Sydenham
- end of the road of that name. He has had the reputation of
- being a man of eccentric habits, secretive and retiring. For
- some years he has practicallfolwidrawn from the business,
- in which he is said to have massed considerable wealth. A
- small timber-yard still exists, however, at the back of the
- house, and last night, about twelve o'clock, an alarm was
- given that one of the stacks was on fire. The engines were
- soon upon the spot, but the dry wood burned with great
- fury, and it was impossible to arrest the conflagration until
- the stack had been entirely consumed. Up to this point the
- incident bore the appearance of an ordinary accident, but
- fresh indications seem to point to serious crime. Surprise
- was expressed at the absence of the master of the establish-
- ment from the scene of the fire, and an inquiry followed,
- which showed that he had disappeared from the house. An
- examination of his room revealed that the bed had not been
- slept in, that a safe which stood in it was open, that a
- number of important papers were scattered about the room,
- and finally, that there were signs of a murderous struggle,
- slight traces of blood being found within the room, and an
- oaken walking-stick, which also showed stains of blood
- upon the handle. It is known that Mr. Jonas Oldacre had
- received a late visitor in his bedroom upon that night, and
- the stick found has been identified as the property of this
- person, who is a young London solicitor named John Hector
- McFarlane, junior partner of Graham and McFarlane, of
- 426 Gresham Buildings. E. C. The police believe that they
- have evidence in their possession which supplies a very
- convincing motive for the crime, and altogether it cannot be
- doubted that sensational developments will follow.
- "LATER. -- It is rumoured as we go to press that Mr. John
- Hector McFarlane has actuallf been arrested on the charge
- of the murder of Mr. Jonas Oldacre. It is at least certain that
- a warrant has been issued. There have been further and
- sinister developments in the investigation at Norwood. Be-
- sides the signs of a struggle in the room of the unfortunate
- builder it is now known that the French windows of his
- bedroom (which is on the ground floor) were found to be
- open, that there were marks as if some bulky object had
- been dragged across to the wood-pile, and, finally, it is
- asserted that charred remains have been found among the
- charcoal ashes of the fire. The police theory is that a most
- sensational crime has been committed, that the victim was
- clubbed to death in his own bedroom, his papers rifled, and
- his dead body dragged across to the wood-stack, which was
- then ignited so as to hide all traces of the crime. The
- conduct of the criminal investigation has been left in the
- experienced hands of Inspector Lestrade, of Scotland Yard,
- who is following up the clues with his accustomed energy
- and sagacity."
-
- Sherlock Holmes listened with closed eyes and fingertips to-
- gether to this remarkable account.
- "The case has certainly some points of interest," said he, in
- his languid fashion. "May I ask, in the first place, Mr. McFarlane,
- how it is that you are still at liberty, since there appears to be
- enough evidence to justify your arrest?"
- "I live at Torrington Lodge, Blackheath, with my parents,
- Mr. Holmes but last night, having to do business very late with
- Mr. Jonas Oidacre, I stayed at an hotel in Norwood, and came to
- my business from there. I knew nothing of this affair until I was
- in the train, when I read what you have just heard. I at once saw
- the horrible danger of my position, and I hurried to put the case
- into your hands. I have no doubt that I should have been arrested
- either at my city office or at my home. A man followed me from
- London Bridge Station, and I have no doubt Great heaven!
- what is that?"
- It was a clang of the bell, followed instantly by heavy steps
- upon the stair. A moment later, our old friend Lestrade appeared
- in the doorway. Over his shoulder I caught a glimpse of one or
- two uniformed policemen outside.
- "Mr. John Hector McFarlane?" said LestMde.
- Our unfortunate client rose with a ghastly face.
- "I arrest you for the wilful murder of Mr. Jonas Oldacre, of
- Lower Norwood."
- McFarlane turned to us with a gesture of despair, and sank
- into his chair once more like one who is crushed.
- "One moment. Lestrade," said Holmes. "Half an hour more
- or less can make no difference to you, and the gentleman was
- about to give us an account of this very interesting affair, which
- might aid us in clearing it up."
- "I think there will be no difficulty in clearing it up," said
- Lestrade, grimly.
- "None the less, with your permission, I should be much
- interested to hear his account."
- "Well, Mr. Holmes, it is difficult for me to refuse you
- anything, for you have been of use to the force once or twice in
- the past, and we owe you a good turn at Scotland Yard," said
- Lestrade. "At the same time I must remain with my prisoner
- and I am bound to warn him that anything he may say will
- appear in evidence against him."
- "I wish nothing better," said our client. "All I ask is that you
- should hear and recognize the absolute truth."
- Lestrade looked at his watch. "I'll give you half an hour,"
- said he.
- "I must explain first," said McFarlane, "that I knew nothing
- of Mr. Jonas Oldacre. His name was familiar to me, for many
- years ago my parents were acquainted with him, but they drifted
- apart. I was very much surprised, therefore, when yesterday,
- about three o'clock in the afternoon, he walked into my office in
- the city. But I was still more astonished when he told me the
- object of his visit. He had in his hand several sheets of a
- notebook, covered with scribbled writing -- here they are -- and
- he laid them on my table.
- " 'Here is my will,' said he. 'I want you, Mr. McFarlane, to
- cast it into proper legal shape. I will sit here while you do so.'
- "I set myself to copy it, and you can imagine my astonish-
- ment when I found that, with some reservations, he had left all
- his property to me. He was a strange little ferret-like man, with
- white eyelashes, and when I looked up at him I found his keen
- gray eyes fixed upon me with an amused expression. I could
- hardly believe my own senses as I read the terms of the will, but
- he explained that he was a bachelor with hardly any living
- relation, that he had known my parents in his youth, and that he
- had always heard of me as a very deserving young man, and was
- assured that his money would be in worthy hands. Of course, I
- could only stammer out my thanks. The will was duly finished,
- signed, and witnesscd by my clerk. This is it on the blue paper.
- and these slips, as I have explained. are the rough draft. Mr.
- Jonas Oldacre then informed me that there were a number of
- documents -- building leases, title-deeds, mortgages, scrip, and
- so forth -- which it was necessary that I should see and understand.
- He said that his mind would not be easy until the whole thing
- was settled, and he begged me to come out to his house at
- Norwood that night, bringing the will with me, and to arrange
- matters. 'Remember, my boy, not one word to your parents
- about the affair until everything is settled. We will keep it as a
- little surprise for them.' He was very insistent upon this point,
- and made me promise it faithfully.
- "You can imagine, Mr. Holmes, that I was not in a humour to
- refuse him anything that he might ask. He was my benefactor,
- and all my desire was to carry out his wishes in every particular.
- I sent a telegram home, therefore, to say that I had important
- business on hand, and that it was impossible for me to say how
- late I might be. Mr. Oldacre had told me that he would like me
- to have supper with him at nine, as he might not be home before
- that hour. I had some difficulty in finding his house, however,
- and it was nearly half-past before I reached it. I found him --"
- "One moment!" said Holmes. "Who opened the door?"
- "A middle-aged woman, who was, I suppose, his housekeeper."
- "And it was she, I presume, who mentioned your name?"
- "Exactly," said McFarlane.
- "Pray proceed."
- McFarlane wiped his damp brow, and then continued his
- narrative:
- "I was shown by this woman into a sitting-room, where a
- frugal supper was laid out. Afterwards, Mr. Jonas Oldacre led
- me into his bedroom, in which there stood a heavy safe. This he
- opened and took out a mass of documents, which we went over
- together. It was between eleven and twelve when we finished.
- He remarked that we must not disturb the housekeeper. He
- showed me out through his own French window, which had been
- open all this time."
- "Was the blind down?" asked Holmes.
- "I will not be sure. but I believe that it was only half down.
- Yes, I remember how he pulled it up in order to swing open the
- window. I could not find my stick, and he said, 'Never mind,
- my boy, I shall see a good deal of you now, I hope, and I will
- keep your stick until you come back to claim it.' I left him there,
- the safe open, and the papers made up in packets upon the table.
- It was so latc that I could not get back to Blackheath. so I spent
- the night at the Anerley Arms. and I knew nothing more until I
- read of this horrible affair in the morning."
- "Anything more that you would like to ask, Mr. Holmes?"
- said Lestrade, whose eyebrows had gone up once or twice during
- this remarkable explanation.
- "Not until I have been to Blackheath."
- "You mean to Norwood," said Lestrade.
- "Oh, yes, no doubt that is what I must have meant," said
- Holmes, with his enigmatical smile. Lestrade had learned by
- more experiences than he would care to acknowledge that that
- razor-like brain could cut through that which was impenetrable to
- him. I saw him look curiously at my companion.
- "I think I should like to have a word with you presently, Mr,
- Sherlock Holmes," said he. "Now, Mr. McFarlane, two of my
- constables are at the door, and there is a four-wheeler waiting."
- The wretched young man arose, and with a last beseeching
- glance at us walked from the room. The officers conducted him
- to the cab, but Lestrade remained.
- Holmes had picked up the pages which formed the rough draft
- of the will, and was looking at them with the keenest interest
- upon his face.
- "There are some points about that document, Lestrade, are
- there not?" said he, pushing them over.
- The official looked at them with a puzzled expression.
- "I can read the first few lines, and these in the middle of the
- second page, and one or two at the end. Those are as clear as
- print," said he, "but the writing in between is very bad, and
- there are three places where I cannot read it at all."
- "What do you make of that?" said Holmes.
- "Well, what do you make of it?"
- "That it was written in a train. The good writing represents
- stations, the bad writing movement, and the very bad writing
- passing over points. A scientific expert would pronounce at once
- that this was drawn up on a suburban line, since nowhere save in
- the immediate vicinity of a great city could there be so quick a
- succession of points. Granting that his whole journey was occu-
- pied in drawing up the will, then the train was an express, only
- stopping once between Norwood and London Bridge."
- Lestrade began to laugh.
- "You are too many for me when you begin to get on your
- theories. Mr. Holmes," said he. "How does this bear on the
- case?"
- "Well, it corroborates the young man's story to the extent that
- the will was drawn up by Jonas Oldacre in his journey yesterday.
- It is curious -- is it not? -- that a man should draw up so important
- a document in so haphazard a fashion. It suggests that he did not
- think it was going to be of much practical importance. If a man
- drew up a will which he did not intend ever to be effective, he
- might do it so."
- "Well, he drew up his own death warrant at the same time,"
- said Lestrade.
- "Oh, you think so?"
- "Don't you?"
- "Well, it is quite possible, but the case is not clear to me
- yet."
- "Not clear? Well, if that isn't clear, what could be clear? Here
- is a young man who learns suddenly that, if a certain older man
- dies, he will succeed to a fortune. What does he do? He says
- nothing to anyone, but he arranges that he shall go out on some
- pretext to see his client that night. He waits until the only other
- person in the house is in bed, and then in the solitude of a man's
- room he murders him, burns his body in the wood-pile, and
- departs to a neighbouring hotel. The blood-stains in the room
- and also on the stick are very slight. It is probable that he
- imagined his crime to be a bloodless one, and hoped that if the
- body were consumed it would hide all traces of the method of his
- death -- traces which, for some reason, must have pointed to him.
- Is not all this obvious?"
- "It strikes me, my good Lestrade, as being just a trifle too
- obvious," said Holmes. "You do not add imagination to your
- other great qualities, but if you could for one moment put
- yourself in the place of this young man, would you choose the
- very night after the will had been made to commit your crime?
- Would it not seem dangerous to you to make so very close a
- relation between the two incidents? Again, would you choose an
- occasion when you are known to be in the house, when a servant
- has let you in? And, finallf, would you take the great pains to
- conceal the body, and yet leave your own stick as a sign that you
- were the cnminal? Confess, Lestrade, that all this is very unlikely."
- "As to the stick, Mr. Holmes, you know as well as I do that a
- criminal is often flurried, and does such things, which a cool
- man would avoid. He was very likely afraid to go back to the
- room. Give me another theory that would fit the facts."
- "I could very easily give you half a dozen," said Holmes.
- "Here, for example, is a very possible and even probable one. I
- make you a free present of it. The older man is showing docu-
- ments which are of evident value. A passing tramp sees them
- through the window, the blind of which is only half down. Exit
- the solicitor. Enter the tramp! He seizes a stick, which he
- observes there, kills Oldacre, and departs after burning the body."
- "Why should the tramp burn the body?"
- "For the matter of that, why should McFarlane?"
- "To hide some evidence."
- "Possibly the tramp wanted to hide that any murder at all had
- been committed."
- "And why did the tramp take nothing?"
- "Because they were papers that he could not negotiate."
- Lestrade shook his head, though it seemed to me that his
- manner was less absolutely assured than before.
- "Well, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, you may look for your tramp,
- and while you are finding him we will hold on to our man. The
- future will show which is right. Just notice this point, Mr.
- Holmes: that so far as we know, none of the papers were
- removed, and that the prisoner is the one man in the world who
- had no reason for removing them, since he was heir-at-law, and
- would come into them in any case."
- My friend seemed struck by this remark.
- "I don't mean to deny that the evidence is in some ways very
- strongly in favour of your theory," said he. "I only wish to
- point out that there are other theories possible. As you say, the
- future will decide. Good-morning! I dare say that in the course
- of the day I shall drop in at Norwood and see how you are
- getting on."
- When the detective departed, my friend rose and made his
- preparations for the day's work with the alert air of a man who
- has a congenial task before him.
- "My first movement, Watson," said he. as he bustled into his
- frockcoat, "must, as I said, be in the direction of Blackheath."
- "And why not Norwood?"
- "Because we have in this case one singular incident coming
- close to the heels of another singular incident. The police are
- making the mistake of concentrating their attention upon the
- second, because it happens to be the one which is actuallf
- criminal. But it is evident to me that the logical way to approach
- the case is to begin by trying to throw some light upon the first
- incident -- the curious will, so suddenly made, and to so unex-
- pected an heir. It may do something to simplify what followed.
- No, my dear fellow, I don't think you can help me. There is no
- prospect of danger, or I should not dream of stirring out without
- you. I trust that when I see you in the evening, I will be able to
- report that I have been able to do something for this unfortunate
- youngster, who has thrown himself upon my protection."
- It was late when my friend returned, and I could see, by a
- glance at his haggard and anxious face, that the high hopes with
- which he had started had not been fulfilled. For an hour he
- droned away upon his violin, endeavouring to soothe his own
- ruffled spirits. At last he flung down the instrument, and plunged
- into a detailed account of his misadventures.
- "It's all going wrong, Watson -- all as wrong as it can go. I
- kept a bold face before Lestrade, but, upon my soul, I believe
- that for once the fellow is on the right track and we are on the
- wrong. All my instincts are one way, and all the facts are the
- other, and I much fear that British juries have not yet attained
- that pitch of intelligence when they will give the preference to
- my theories over Lestrade's facts."
- "Did you go to Blackheath?"
- "Yes, Watson, I went there, and I found very quickly that the
- late lamented Oldacre was a pretty considerable blackguard. The
- father was away in search of his son. The mother was at home -- a
- little, fluffy, blue-eyed person, in a tremor of fear and indigna-
- tion. Of course, she would not admit even the possibility of his
- guilt. But she would not express either surprise or regret over the
- fate of Oldacre. On the contrary, she spoke of him with such
- bitterness that she was unconsciously considerably strengthening
- the case of the police for, of course, if her son had heard her
- speak of the man in this fashion, it would predispose him
- towards hatred and violence. 'He was more like a malignant and
- cunning ape than a human being,' said she, 'and he always was,
- ever since he was a young man.'
- " 'You knew him at that time?' said I.
- '' 'Yes, I knew him well, in fact, he was an old suitor of
- mine. Thank heaven that I had the sense to turn away from him
- and to marry a better, if poorer, man. I was engaged to him. Mr.
- Holmes, when I heard a shocking story of how he had turned a
- cat loose in an aviary, and I was so horrified at his brutal cruelty
- that I would have nothing more to do with him.' She rummaged
- in a bureau, and presently she produced a photograph of a
- woman, shamefully defaced and mutilated with a knife. 'That is
- my own photograph.' she said. 'He sent it to me in that state,
- with his curse, upon my wedding morning.'
- " 'Well,' said I, 'at least he has forgiven you now, since he
- has left all his property to your son.'
- " 'Neither my son nor I want anything from Jonas Oldacre,
- dead or alive!' she cried, with a proper spirit. 'There is a God in
- heaven, Mr. Holmes, and that same God who has punished that
- wicked man will show, in His own good time, that my son's
- hands are guiltless of his blood.'
- "Well, I tried one or two leads, but could get at nothing
- which would help our hypothesis, and several points which
- would make against it. I gave it up at last, and off I went to
- Norwood.
- "This place, Deep Dene House, is a big modern villa of
- staring brick, standing back in its own grounds, with a laurel-
- clumped lawn in front of it. To the right and some distance back
- from the road was the timber-yard which had been the scene of
- the fire. Here's a rough plan on a leaf of my notebook. This
- window on the left is the one which opens into Oldacre's room.
- You can look into it from the road, you see. That is about the
- only bit of consolation I have had to-day. Lestrade was not there,
- but his head constable did the honours. They had just found a
- great treasure-trove. They had spent the morning raking among
- the ashes of the burned wood-pile, and besides the charred
- organic remains they had secured several discoloured metal discs.
- I examined them with care, and there was no doubt that they
- were trouser buttons. I even distinguished that one of them was
- marked with the name of 'Hyams,' who was Oldacre's tailor. I
- then worked the lawn very carefully for signs and traces, but this
- drought has made everything as hard as iron. Nothing was to be
- seen save that some body or bundle had been dragged through a
- low privet hedge which is in a line with the wood-pile. All that,
- of course, fits in with the official theory. I crawled about the
- lawn with an August sun on my back, but I got up at the end of
- an hour no wiser than before.
- "Well, after this fiasco I went into the bedroom and examined
- that also. The blood-stains were very slight, mere smears and
- discolourations, but undoubtedly fresh. The stick had been re-
- moved, but there also the marks were slight. There is no doubt
- about the stick belonging to our client. He admits it. Footmarks
- of both men could be made out on the carpet, but none of any
- third person, which again is a trick for the other side. They were
- piling up their score all the time and we were at a standstill.
- "Only one little gleam of hope did I get -- and yet it amounted
- to nothing. I examined the contents of the safe, most of which
- had been taken out and left on the table. The papers had been
- made up into sealed envelopes, one or two of which had been
- opened by the police. They were not, so far as I could judge, of
- any great value, nor did the bank-book show that Mr. Oldacre
- was in such very affluent circumstances. But it seemed to me
- that all the papers were not there. There were allusions to some
- deeds -- possibly the more valuable -- which I could not find.
- This, of course, if we could definitely prove it, would turn
- Lestrade's argument against himself; for who would steal a thing
- if he knew that he would shortly inherit it?
- "Finally, having drawn every other cover and picked up no
- scent, I tried my luck with the housekeeper. Mrs. Lexington is
- her name -- a little, dark, silent person, with suspicious and
- sidelong eyes. She could tell us somethirig if she would -- I am
- convinced of it. But she was as close as wax. Yes, she had let
- Mr. McFarlane in at half-past nine. She wished her hand had
- withered before she had done so. She had gone to bed at
- half-past ten. Her room was at the other end of the house, and
- she could hear nothing of what passed. Mr. McFarlane had left
- his hat, and to the best of her belief his stick, in the hall. She had
- been awakened by the alarm of fire. Her poor, dear master had
- certainly been murdered. Had he any enemies? Well, every man
- had enemies, but Mr. Oldacre kept himself very much to him-
- self, and only met people in the way of business. She had seen
- the buttons, and was sure that they belonged to the clothes which
- he had worn last night. The wood-pile was very dry, for it had
- not rained for a month. It burned like tinder, and by the time she
- reached the spot, nothing could be seen but flames. She and all
- the firemen smelled the burned flesh from inside it. She knew
- nothing of the papers, nor of Mr. Oldacre's private affairs.
- "So, my dear Watson, there's my report of a failure. And
- yet -- and yet --" he clenched his thin hands in a paroxysm of
- conviction-- "I know it's all wrong. I feel it in my bones. There
- is something that has not come out, and that housekeeper knows
- it. There was a sort of sulky defiance in her eyes, which only
- goes with guilty knowledge. However, there's no good talking
- any more about it, Watson; but unless some lucky chance comes
- our way I fear that the Norwood Disappearance Case will not
- figure in that chronicle of our successes which I foresee that a
- patient public will sooner or later have to endure."
- "Surely," said I, "the man's appearance would go far with
- any jury?"
- "That is a dangerous argument, my dear Watson. You re-
- member that terrible murderer, Bert Stevens, who wanted us to
- get him off in '87? Was there ever a more mild-mannered,
- Sunday-school young man?"
- "It is true."
- "Unless we succeed in establishing an alternative theory, this
- man is lost. You can hardly find a flaw in the case which can
- now be presented against him, and all further investigation has
- served to strengthen it. By the way, there is one curious little
- point about those papers which may serve us as the starting-point
- for an inquiry. On looking over the bank-book I found that the
- low state of the balance was principally due to large checks
- which have been made out during the last year to Mr. Cornelius.
- I confess that I should be interested to know who this Mr.
- Cornelius may be with whom a retired builder has had such very
- large transactions. Is it possible that he has had a hand in the
- affair? Cornelius might be a broker, but we have found no scrip
- to correspond with these large payments. Failing any other in-
- dication, my researches must now take the direction of an in-
- quiry at the bank for the gentleman who has cashed these checks.
- But I fear, my dear fellow, that our case will end ingloriously by
- Lestrade hanging our client, which will certainly be a triumph
- for Scotland Yard."
- I do not know how far Sherlock Holmes took any sleep that
- night, but when I came down to breakfast I found him pale and
- harassed, his bright eyes the brighter for the dark shadows round
- them. The carpet round his chair was littered with cigarette-ends
- and with the early editions of the morning papers. An open
- telegram lay upon the table.
- "What do you think of this, Watson?" he asked, tossing it
- across.
- It was from Norwood, and ran as follows:
-
- Important fresh evidence to hand. McFarlane's guilt defi-
- nitely established. Advise you to abandon case.
- LESTRADE.
-
- "This sounds serious," said I.
- "It is Lestrade's little cock-a-doodle of victory," Holmes
- answered, with a bitter smile. "And yet it may be premature to
- abandon the case. After all, important fresh evidence is a two-
- edged thing, and may possibly cut in a very different direction to
- that which Lestrade imagines. Take your breakfast, Watson, and
- we will go out together and see what we can do. I feel as if I
- shall need your company and your moral support to-day."
- My friend had no breakfast himself, for it was one of his
- peculiarities that in his more intense moments he would permit
- himself no food, and I have known him presume upon his iron
- strength until he has fainted from pure inanition. "At present I
- cannot spare energy and nerve force for digestion," he would
- say in answer to my medical remonstrances. I was not surprised,
- therefore, when this morning he left his untouched meal behind
- him, and started with me for Norwood. A crowd of morbid
- sightseers were still gathered round Deep Dene House, which
- was just such a suburban villa as I had pictured. Within the gates
- Lestrade met us, his face flushed with victory, his manner
- grossly triumphant.
- "Well, Mr. Holmes, have you proved us to be wrong yet?
- Have you found your tramp?" he cried.
- "I have formed no conclusion whatever," my companion
- answered.
- "But we formed ours yesterday, and now it proves to be
- correct, so you must acknowledge that we have been a little in
- front of you this time, Mr. Holmes."
- "You certainly have the air of something unusual having
- occurred," said Holmes.
- Lestrade laughed loudly.
- "You don't like being beaten any more than the rest of us
- do," said he. "A man can't expect always to have it his own
- way, can he, Dr. Watson? Step this way, if you please, gentle-
- men, and I think I can convince you once for all that it was John
- McFarlane who did this crime."
- He led us through the passage and out into a dark hall beyond.
- "This is where young McFarlane must have come out to get
- his hat after the crime was done," said he. "Now look at this."
- With dramatic suddenness he struck a match, and by its light
- exposed a stain of blood upon the whitewashed wall. As he held
- the match nearer, I saw that it was more than a stain. It was the
- well-marked print of a thumb.
- "Look at that with your magnifying glass, Mr. Holmes."
- "Yes, I am doing so."
- "You are aware that no two thumb-marks are alike?"
- "I have heard something of the kind."
- "Well, then, will you please compare that print with this wax
- impression of young McFarlane's right thumb, taken by my
- orders this morning?"
- As he held the waxen print close to the blood-stain, it did not
- take a magnifying glass to see that the two were undoubtedly
- from the same thumb. It was evident to me that our unfortunate
- client was lost.
- "That is final," said Lestrade.
- "Yes, that is final," I involuntarily echoed.
- "It is final," said Holmes.
- Something in his tone caught my ear, and I turned to look at
- him. An extraordinary change had come over his face. It was
- writhing with inward merriment. His two eyes were shining like
- stars. It seemed to me that he was making desperate efforts to
- restrain a convulsive attack of laughter.
- "Dear me! Dear me!" he said at last. "Well, now, who
- would have thought it? And how deceptive appearances may be,
- to be sure! Such a nice young man to look at! It is a lesson to us
- not to trust our own judgment, is it not, Lestrade?"
- "Yes, some of us are a little too much inclined to be cock-
- sure, Mr. Holmes," said Lestrade. The man's insolence was
- maddening, but we could not resent it.
- "What a providential thing that this young man should press
- his right thumb against the wall in taking his hat from the peg!
- Such a very natural action, too, if you come to think if it."
- Holmes was outwardly calm, but his whole body gave a wriggle
- of suppressed excitement as he spoke.
- "By the way, Lestrade, who made this remarkable discovery?"
- "It was the housekeeper, Mrs. Lexington, who drew the night
- constable's attention to it."
- "Where was the night constable?"
- "He remained on guard in the bedroom where the crime was
- committed, so as to see that nothing was touched."
- "But why didn't the police see this mark yesterday?"
- "Well, we had no particular reason to make a careful exami-
- nation of the hall. Besides, it's not in a very prominent place, as
- you see."
- "No, no -- of course not. I suppose there is no doubt that the
- mark was there yesterday?"
- Lestrade looked at Holmes as if he thought he was going out
- of his mind. I confess that I was myself surprised both at his
- hilarious manner and at his' rather wild observation.
- "I don't know whether you think that McFarlane came out of
- jail in the dead of the night in order to strengthen the evidence
- against himself," said Lestrade. "I leave it to any expert in the
- world whether that is not the mark of his thumb."
- "It is unquestionably the mark of his thumb."
- "There, that's enough," said Lestrade. "I am a practical
- man, Mr. Holmes, and when I have got my evidence I come to
- my conclusions. If you have anything to say, you will find me
- writing my report in the sitting-room."
- Holmes had recovered his equanimity, though I still seemed to
- detect gleams of amusement in his expression.
- "Dear me, this is a very sad development, Watson, is it not?"
- said he. "And yet there are singular points about it which hold
- out some hopes for our client."
- "I am delighted to hear it," said I, heartily. "I was afraid it
- was all up with him."
- "I would hardly go so far as to say that, my dear Watson. The
- fact is that there is one really serious flaw in this evidence to
- which our friend attaches so much importance."
- "Indeed, Holmes! What is it?"
- "Only this: that I know that that mark was not there when I
- examined the hall yesterday. And now, Watson, let us have a
- little stroll round in the sunshine."
- With a confused brain, but with a heart into which some
- warmth of hope was returning, I accompanied my friend in a
- walk round the garden. Holmes took each face of the house in
- turn, and examined it with great interest. He then led the way
- inside, and went over the whole building from basement to attic.
- Most of the rooms were unfurnished, but none the less Holmes
- inspected them all minutely. Finally, on the top corridor, which
- ran outside three untenanted bedrooms, he again was seized with
- a spasm of merriment.
- "There are really some very unique features about this case,
- Watson," said he. "I think it is time now that we took our friend
- Lestrade into our confidence. He has had his little smile at our
- expense, and perhaps we may do as much by him, if my reading
- of this problem proves to be correct. Yes, yes, I think I see how
- we should approach it."
- The Scotland Yard inspector was still writing in the parlour
- when Holmes interrupted him.
- "I understood that you were writing a report of this case,"
- said he.
- "So I am."
- "Don't you think it may be a little premature? I can't help
- thinking that your evidence is not complete."
- Lestrade knew my friend too well to disregard his words. He
- laid down his pen and looked curiously at him.
- "What do you mean, Mr. Holmes?"
- "Only that there is an important witness whom you have not
- seen."
- "Can you produce him?"
- "I think I can."
- "Then do so."
- "I will do my best. How many constables have you?"
- "There are three within call."
- "Excellent!" said Holmes. "May I ask if they are all large,
- able-bodied men with powerful voices?"
- "I have no doubt they are, though I fail to see what their
- voices have to do with it."
- "Perhaps I can help you to see that and one or two other
- things as well," said Holmes. "Kindly summon your men, and I
- will try."
- Five minutes later, three policemen had assembled in the hall.
- "In the outhouse you will find a considerable quantity of
- straw," said Holmes. "I will ask you to carry in two bundles of it.
- I think it will be of the greatest assistance in producing the
- witness whom I require. Thank you very much. I believe you
- have some matches in your pocket, Watson. Now, Mr. Lestrade,
- I will ask you all to accompany me to the top landing."
- As I have said, there was a broad corridor there, which ran
- outside three empty bedrooms. At one end of the corridor we
- were all marshalled by Sherlock Holmes, the constables grinning
- and Lestrade staring at my friend with amazement, expectation,
- and derision chasing each other across his features. Holmes
- stood before us with the air of a conjurer who is performing a
- trick.
- "Would you kindly send one of your constables for two
- buckets of water? Put the straw on the floor here. free from the
- wall on either side. Now I think that we are all ready."
- Lestrade's face had begun to grow red and angry.
- "I don't know whether you are playing a game with us, Mr.
- Sherlock Holmes," said he. "If you know anything, you can
- surely say it without all this tomfoolery."
- "I assure you, my good Lestrade, that I have an excellent
- reason for everything that I do. You may possibly remember that
- you chaffed me a little, some hours ago, when the sun seemed
- on your side of the hedge, so you must not grudge me a little
- pomp and ceremony now. Might I ask you, Watson, to open that
- window, and then to put a match to the edge of the straw?"
- I did so, and driven by the draught, a coil of gray smoke
- swirled down the corridor, while the dry straw crackled and
- flamed.
- "Now we must see if we can find this witness for you, Lestrade.
- Might I ask you all to join in the cry of 'Fire!'? Now then; one,
- two, three --"
- "Fire!" we all yelled.
- "Thank you. I will trouble you once again."
- "Fire!"
- "Just once more, gentlemen, and all together."
- "Fire!" The shout must have rung over Norwood.
- It had hardly died away when an amazing thing happened. A
- door suddenly flew open out of what appeared to be solid wall at
- the end of the corridor, and a little, wizened man darted out of it
- like a rabbit out of its burrow.
- "Capital!" said Holmes, calmly. "Watson, a bucket of water
- over the straw. That will do! Lestrade, allow me to present you
- with your principal missing witness, Mr. Jonas Oldacre."
- The detective stared at the newcomer with blank amazement.
- The latter was blinking in the bright light of the corridor, and
- peering at us and at the smouldering fire. It was an odious
- face -- crafty, vicious, malignant, with shifty, light-gray eyes and
- white lashes.
- "What's this, then?" said Lestrade, at last. "What have you
- been doing all this time, eh?"
- Oldacre gave an uneasy laugh, shrinking back from the furious
- red face of the angry detective.
- "I have done no harm."
- "No harm? You have done your best to get an innocent man
- hanged. If it wasn't for this gentleman here, I am not sure that
- you would not have succeeded."
- The wretched creature began to whimper.
- "I am sure, sir, it was only my practical joke."
- "Oh! a joke, was it? You won't find the laugh on your side, I
- promise you. Take him down, and keep him in the sitting-room
- until I come. Mr. Holmes," he continued, when they had gone,
- "I could not speak before the constables, but I don't mind
- saying, in the presence of Dr. Watson, that this is the brightest
- thing that you have done yet, though it is a mystery to me how
- you did it. You have saved an innocent man's life, and you have
- prevented a very grave scandal, which would have ruined my
- reputation in the Force."
- Holmes smiled, and clapped Lestrade upon the shoulder.
- "Instead of being ruined, my good sir, you will find that your
- reputation has been enormously enhanced. Just make a few
- alterations in that report which you were writing, and thefolwll
- understand how hard it is to throw dust in the eyes of Inspector
- Lestrade."
- "And you don't want your name to appear?"
- "Not at all. The work is its own reward. Perhaps I shall get
- the credit also at some distant day, when I permit my zealous
- historian to lay out his foolscap once more -- eh, Watson? Well,
- now, let us see where this rat has been lurking."
- A lath-and-plaster partition had been run across the passage
- six feet from the end, with a door cunningly concealed in it. It
- was lit within by slits under the eaves. A few articles of furniture
- and a supply of food and water were within, together with a
- number of books and papers.
- "There's the advantage of being a builder," said Holmes, as we
- came out. "He was able to fix up his own little hiding-place
- without any confederate -- save, of course, that precious house-
- keeper of his, whom I should lose no time in adding to your bag,
- Lestrade."
- "I'll take your advice. But how did you know of this place,
- Mr. Holmes?"
- "I made up my mind that the fellow was in hiding in the
- house. When I paced one corridor and found it six feet shorter
- than the corresponding one below, it was pretty clear where he
- was. I thought he had not the nerve to lie quiet before an alarm
- of fire. We could, of course, have gone in and taken him, but it
- amused me to make him reveal himself. Besides, I owed you a
- little mystification, Lestrade, for your chaff in the morning."
- "Well, sir, you certainly got equal with me on that. But how
- in the world did you know that he was in the house at all?"
- "The thumb-mark, Lestrade. You said it was final; and so it
- was, in a very different sense. I knew it had not been there the
- day before. I pay a good deal of attention to matters of detail, as
- you may have observed, and I had examined the hall, and was
- sure that the wall was clear. Therefore, it had been put on during
- the night."
- "But how?"
- "Very simply. When those packets were sealed up, Jonas
- Oldacre got McFarlane to secure one of the seals by putting his
- thumb upon the soft wax. It would be done so quickly and so
- naturallf, that I daresay the young man himself has no recollec-
- tion of it. Very likely it just so happened, and Oldacre had
- himself no notion of the use he would put it to. Brooding over
- the case in that den of his, it suddenly struck him what abso-
- lutely damning evidence he could make against McFarlane by
- using that thumb-mark. It was the simplest thing in the world for
- him to take a wax impression from the seal, to moisten it in as
- much blood as he could get from a pin-prick, and to put the mark
- upon the wall during the night, either with his own hand or with
- that of his housekeeper. If you examine among those documents
- which he took with him into his retreat, I will lay you a wager
- that you find the seal with the thumbmark upon it."
- "Wonderful!" said Lestrade. "Wonderful! It's all as clear as
- crystal, as you put it. But what is the object of this deep
- deception, Mr. Holmes?"
- It was amusing to me to see how the detective's overbearing
- manner had changed suddenly to that of a child asking questions
- of its teacher.
- "Well, I don't think that is very hard to explain. A very deep,
- malicious, vindictive person is the gentleman who is now wait-
- ing us downstairs. You know that he was once refused by
- McFarlane's mother? You don't! I told you that you should go to
- Blackheath first and Norwood afterwards. Well, this injury, as
- he would consider it, has rankled in his wicked, scheming brain,
- and all his life he has longed for vengeance, but never seen his
- chance. During the last year or two, things have gone against
- him -- secret speculation, I think -- and he finds himself in a bad
- way. He determines to swindle his creditors, and for this purpose
- he pays large checks to a certain Mr. Cornelius, who is, I
- imagine, himself under another name. I have not traced these
- checks yet, but I have no doubt that they were banked under that
- name at some provincial town where Oldacre from time to time
- led a double existence. He intended to change his name al-
- together, draw this money, and vanish, starting life again
- elsewhere."
- "Well, that's likely enough."
- "It would strike him that in disappearing he might throw all
- pursuit off his track, and at the same time have an ample and
- crushing revenge upon his old sweetheart, if he could give the
- impression that he had been murdered by her only child. It was a
- masterpiece of villainy, and he carried it out like a master. The
- idea of the will, which would give an obvious motive for the
- crime, the secret visit unknown to his own parents, the retention
- of the stick, the blood, and the animal remains and buttons in the
- wood-pile, all were admirable. It was a net from which it seemed
- to me, a few hours ago, that there was no possible escape. But
- he had not that supreme gift of the artist, the knowledge of when
- to stop. He wished to improve that which was already perfect -- to
- draw the rope tighter yet round the neck of his unfortunate victim --
- and so he ruined all. Let us descend, Lestrade. There are just one
- or two questions that I would ask him."
- The malignant creature was seated in his own parlour, with a
- policeman upon each side of him.
- "It was a joke, my good sir -- a practical joke, nothing more,"
- he whined incessantly. "I assure you, sir, that I simply con-
- cealed myself in order to see the effect of my disappearance, and
- I am sure that you would not be so unjust as to imagine that I
- would have allowed any harm to befall poor young Mr.
- McFarlane."
- "That's for a jury to decide," said Lestrade. "Anyhow, we
- shall have you on a charge of conspiracy, if not for attempted
- murder."
- "And you'll probably find that your creditors will impound
- the banking account of Mr. Cornelius," said Holmes.
- The little man started, and turned his malignant eyes upon my
- friend.
- "l have to thank you for a good deal," said he. "Perhaps I'll
- pay my debt some day."
- Holmes smiled indulgently.
- "I fancy that, for some few years, you will find your time
- very fully occupied," said he. "By the way, what was it you put
- into the wood-pile besides your old trousers? A dead dog, or
- rabbits, or what? You won't tell? Dear me, how very unkind of
- you! Well, well, I daresay that a couple of rabbits would account
- both for the blood and for the charred ashes. If ever you write an
- account, Watson, you can make rabbits serve your turn."
-